Individuals who wear eyeglasses are often encountered with the problem of how to safely secure their eyewear when temporarily not in use. This problem is especially prevalent for those who use eyewear which is frequently removed and replaced such as sunglasses or reading glasses. Once removed, eyeglasses may be placed in a traditional eyeglass case and placed in a pocket or handbag, however, this process is unduly involved especially if the glasses are to be removed only for a short period of time. Moreover, eyeglass cases are often bulky making them unsuitable for placing on pockets found on garments. In addition, eyeglasses which are placed in pockets are subject to falling out resulting in damage, and eyeglasses placed in a purse or handbag may be difficult to locate especially if various articles are also contained within the bag.
Numerous attempts have been made to solve the problem associated with the storing of eyeglasses in a manner which provides quick and easy access to the eyeglasses. One well-known manner of securing eyeglasses includes attaching a strap to the ends of each eyeglass temple arm thereby permitting the glasses to be hung around the wearer's neck when not in use. However, eyeglasses secured in this manner tend to swing around striking objects in front of the wearer and may impede the wearer's activity due to the eyewear swinging about. In addition, the strap does not provide much flexibility in how the eyewear may be attached to use of a user.
Several U.S. patents disclose devices directed to the securing of eyewear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,887 to Ward, II discloses an eyeglass retainer having an oval-shaped loop rigidly secured to a resiliently biased clip. The eyeglasses are secured to a retainer by inserting the eyeglass temple arm through the loop from which the eyeglasses pendulously hang. The retainer may be clipped to an article of clothing to secure the eyeglasses. The loop remains in a fixed position, and therefore, the eyeglasses rotate about the loop in order to remain in a substantially vertical orientation as the retainer and clothing to which it is attached move about.
This design has several limitations. Since the loop is rigidly fixed to the clip, the clip must be maintained in a substantially vertical orientation so that the loop is properly positioned to effectively secure the eyeglasses. Therefore, the variety of places and positions where the retainer may be attached is limited. Additionally, the loop must be of a certain size to properly retain the eyeglasses. The size results in a relatively narrow slot which would make it difficult to quickly insert and remove the temple arm. Securing the eyeglasses would be especially difficult if the removal of the eyeglass makes it difficult for an individual to see the slot.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,046,696 to Lee; 5,033,612 to Bivins; and 4,523,542 to Tabachnick also disclose eyeglass holders which must be positioned in a particular orientation in order to properly secure the eyeglasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,098 discloses a pocket retainer for eyeglasses. However, in order to retain and remove the eyeglasses from the device, a spring, operated lever must be engaged and disengaged thereby complicating the procedure involved in securing the eyeglasses.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder which can be positioned in almost any orientation and still properly secure the eyeglasses. It would also be desirable to provide an eyeglass holder that allows for ease in securing and removing the eyeglasses from the holder.